Chance controlled game apparatus



Sept. 16, 1952 J. M. SPILLER CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Oct. 7, 1947 r m w m F ig. 3

Joseph M. Spiller 9 y and Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED mes rear or ies CHANCE CQNTROLLED GABIE APPARATUS Joseph M. Spiller, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii Application October 7, 1947, Serial No. 778,351

4 Claims. (01. 273-135) rality of varied play controlling indicia sheets may be selectively employed together with a novel means wherebyeach player may select by chance the various play directing indicia.

A Very important feature of the invention consists in providing a unitary assembly wherein a bingo game board together with a replaceable play controlling board are compactly and;.conveniently secured in a novel frame construction of the apparatus.

A further feature of the invention resides in so securing the frame of the apparatus and the game board that the same may be folded into a compact assembly when not in use and maybe readily positioned in their operative condition.

Yet another feature of the invention resides in.

providing a novel and inexpensive frame construction for the apparatus incorporating therein the amusement appeal of a punchboard for determining the various plays of a bingo game.

And a final important feature of the invention to be specifically enumerated herein, resides in providing a replaceable unit for insertion in the frame of the apparatus consisting of a play controlling board, a transparent protective sheet therefor, a spacer sheet and'a guide sheet having aligned apertures registrable with the individual indicia of the. play controlling board together with a frangible and opaque sheet interposed between the guide board and spacer board and which may be ruptured by the player to reveal the chance selected'indicia for the play on the bingo board.

These, together with various ancillary features Of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of example of the principles of the invention only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of the game apparatus showing the game board in its exposed position in full lines and indicating the concealed or folded position in dotted lines, its details of construction being indicated by dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken substantially upon the plane of the section line 2--2 of Figure 1 and illustrating the external construction and certain details of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a further horizontal transverse sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the section line 3--3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing one of the replaceable play controlling boards which may be interchangeably and removablyused in the apparatus. l I I Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, it Will be seen that the gameapparatus includes a frame, which maybe of any suitable material such as light sheet metal or the like, and WhiOh'lS of U-shaped configuration, being of rectangular form but open at one end thereof, this frame member preferably being U-shaped in cross-section as shown in Figure 3. 7

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the U-shaped channel member In preferably hasits" rear or bottom side I2 of greater width than its front or top side It to give increased rigidity to the device without detracting from the area of opening and extent of visibility of the front of the apparatus. Upon the frame and the rear wall 12 thereof, there is pivotally secured as by a rivet It or the like, a game board l8 of any suitable construction and material, and preferably of the well-known bingo type as shown in Figure 1.

As indicated in the full and dotted line showing of Figure 1, this board *may" be selectively elevated into its exposed andplaying-position, or

swung about the pivotflc and moved into its conversely extending reinforcing strip 26, preferably of sheet metal construction, which adds rigidity to the open end of the frame and further serves to receive a locking means Zaofany suitable type for securing and retaining replaceable inserts within the frame as set forth hereinafter.

Received within the channel-shaped frame member Iii and resting uponthe rear or bottom portion l2 thereof, is a play controlling board 24 provided with suitable indicia by-means of which appropriate counters may be placed upon a bingo board l8 in accordance with the known manner of playing this game. Preferably, a plurality of interchangeable boards or sheets 24 are provided, which may be selectively inserted into the frame It as found to be desirable and entertaining in playing the game. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a transparent sheet 25 is preferably placed upon the play controlling board 26, for protectingthe surface thereof, while a spacer board 28 is placed upon this transparent sheet.

This spacer sheet 28 is provided with a plurality of openings 30 each of which is adapted to register with one of the indicia appearing on the play controlling board 24, these openings being of any desired shape, for convenience being indicated as comprising round bores. Superimposed on the spacer board 28 is a sheet 32 of opaque and frangible material such as lead foil or any other suitable substance. Overlying the frangible sheet 32 is a guide board 34 having a plurality of apertures 36, which apertures are aligned with the openings 30 of the spacer board, but separated therefrom by the frangible sheet 32. As will be readily seen, it is merely necessary to insert a punch pencil or the like into one of the guide apertures 36, and rupturethe frangible sheet 32, whereby the indicia aligned therewith may be viewed through the now open bores or openings 36 and 30. Obviously, the element of chance will determine which of the indicia will be exposed by each rupture of the frangible sheet. I

whereby the plays to be made upon the bingo board will be controlled by the element of luck. It should be here noted that the entire assembly of boards and sheets may be stapled together and removed as a unit from the frame l through the open end thereof, for the replacement of the ruptured frangible sheet and the insertion if desired, of a new play controlling board, when reconditioning the apparatus for its next use. inserted through aligned apertures extending through the various replacement units and through the reinforcing strip in order to retain the parts in their assembled relation ready for use.

It is to bedistinctly understood that the spirit of the invention is not limited to the choice of any particular materials for the boards and sheets and more broadly contemplates the generic concept of a replaceable unitary assembly of the punchboard type for the selection by chance of various play controlling designations of a game.

One highly entertaining manner of employing the game apparatus by a plurality of individuals is to provide bingo boards 18 having the same indicia thereon, while the same game controlling boards 24 are inserted in the frame. Each player in turn may then rupture one of the apertures and make the appropriate play upon his bingo board as in the ordinary game of bingo. As soon as bingo has been made, no more holes are to be opened, and each player counts the total number of holes which have been opened, this constituting his score. The low score for the entire number of boards played may then be regarded as the winning score. Obviously. the game apparatus lends itself to a variety of other manners and methods of play, and accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction disclosed, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

l. A game apparatus including a frame, a game board hinged to the rear of said frame and selectively movablein a plane parallel to that of the frame and about a pivot perpendicular to the plane of said frame into concealed and playing positions, indicia upon said game board directing the positioning of specific game pieces thereon, a play controlling board removably secured in said frame and having play determining indicia thereon, said last mentioned Preferably, the sealing means 22 is v indicia being selective in succession to determine the order of play and the identity of a piece to be positioned upon the corresponding indicia of the game board, a spacer board overlying said play controlling board and having openings each registering with one of said indicia, a sheet of opaque, frangible material overlying said openings, a retaining means extending through said frame, and play controlling board and said spacer board.

2. A game apparatus including a frame, a game board hinged to the rear of said frame and selectively movable in a plane parallel to that of theframe and about a pivot perpendicular to the plane of said frame into concealed and playing positions, indicia upon said game board directing the positioning of specific game pieces thereon, a play controlling board secured in said frame and having play determining indicia thereon, said last mentioned indicia being selective in succession to determine the order of play and the identity of a piece to be positioned upon the corresponding indicia of the game board, a spacer board overlying said play controlling board and having openings each registering with one of said indicia, a sheet of opaque, frangible material overlying said openings, a transparentv sheetpositioned between said spacer board and said play controlling board, a guide board overlying said frangible sheet, and said guide board having apertures aligned with the openings insaid spacer board.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said game controlling board, transparent sheet, spacer board, frangible sheet and guide board are removable as a unit from one end of said frame.

4. A game apparatus including a frame, a game board hinged to the rear of said frame and selectively movable in a plane parallel to that of the frame and about a pivot perpendicular to the plane of said frame into concealed and playing positions, indicia upon said game board directing the positioning of specific game pieces thereon, a play controlling board secured in said frame and having play determining indicia thereon, said last mentioned indicia being selective in succession to determine the order of play and the identity of a piece to be positioned upon the corresponding indicia of the game board, a spacer board overlying said play controlling board and having openings each registering with one of said indicia, a sheet of opaque, frangible material overlying said openings, said frame comprising a rectangular member open at one end, said member being U-shaped in cross section, and a reinforcing strip across the open end of the frame across the rear only thereof.

JOSEPH M. SPHJLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 484,718 Isaacs Oct. 18, 1892 832,232 Blish Oct. 2, 1906 842,295 Blish et al Jan. 29, 1907 1,096,330 Van Zandt May 12, 1914 1,521,095 Harris Dec. 30, 1924 1,837,194 Baumgarten Dec. 22, 1931 1,946,736 Frey Feb. 13, 1934 2,027,432 Hirst Jan. 14, 1936 2,290,266 Bechtold July 21, 1942 

